Who could hate Mondays if you were able to eat this for dinner. My Paleo Crock Pot Garlic and Balsamic Chicken over my cauliflower mashers is such an easy recipe to throw in the slow cooker and it can get you started off on the right foot for the week. It’s a win for all!

Last month my was my blog’s (aka fourth baby) birthday. This blog has been a dream for much longer than a year ago, but it was not until last July that I put myself out there and made it a reality and I blogged my first post on Our Full Plate. It was scary and exciting all at the same time. Scary, obviously, because of the fact that the blog could be a flop. There are millions of blogs out there these days and hundreds of Paleo ones. I knew I had to find my niche and perhaps I still have not found it yet. Currently, I envision my blog to help and teach women (and men) like me, who also have 100 other things going on, that you can still lead a healthy lifestyle no matter how busy you are. “IT” is attainable; I promise you. “IT” may be a tough road, but anything in life that is worth it….IS HARD.

Anyway, fast-forward a year and here I am despite my fear of rejection. I was my worst critic and enemy for sure. I know I am certainly not the most popular blog or have over 1,000 likes on FB or IG. BUT it has been rewarding to hear from some of my followers who contact me and tell me how my recipes have helped them lose Xlbs or how my blog got their kids to eat more veggies or how my blog inspired them to workout and stay fit despite their hectic schedules, etc. Those stories are what keep me going and inspire me to blog more. I consider this a small victory and hope to be even bigger and better come next year’s birthday celebration.

So having all that said, it has been a crazy year with over 70 posts, 288 comments, and over 1,500 views daily. To think I started this blog with less than 30 followers (thank you to my wonderful family and friends) and now I have almost 500! I know you have to start somewhere. In honor of our birthday, I am posting the BEST (or Year in Review) of OurFullPlate with my top 6 recipes that get the most hits and visits. Have you tried them yet? If so which are your favorite?

So what are my goals for next year? I have THREE and I am telling you them so you can help me and hold me accountable.

1. I would like to start a Menu Meal planning tool for weekly and monthly meal planning.

2. I would also like to start a training fitness program, similar to a 30 day challenge, geared to women who just had a baby. I would love to help women lose those extra pounds with quick daily fitness routines that you can not only do at home when you are taking care of a baby but also with little to no equipment.

3. Lastly, I want to start posting, Paleo of course, homemade baby food recipes. I made both of all my son’s baby food and many people think making your own baby food is hard and time consuming. I want to show you that it is easy and so much cheaper.

Ok, now let’s shift gears back to the slow cooker recipe I started this post with since you all love my Crock Pot recipes, but then again come on who doesn’t love the Crock Pot? I wanted to share with you my Paleo Crock Pot Garlic and Balsamic Chicken since it is super easy and super tasty. The only issue I had with this recipe was I only used 2lbs of chicken and there was not a crumb left after my family got to it. I clearly need to double it next time I make this because my growing boys are eating like they are 8 and 10 and not 4 and 3 years old. Forget saving for college, can you take out loans at the grocery store? Layaway anyone? I’m kidding! Back to the recipe; I used chicken tenders, but you can use breasts or thighs as well. What I do love about this crock pot recipe in addition to it being super easy to plop in the ingredients (set it and forget it), is it has less of a cook time than other slow cooker recipes with only 5 hours. Usually with most of my slow cooker recipes, you need to cook them for at least 8+ hours which forces me to make them in the morning before I leave for work. I like this recipe because you can make it over the weekend and not have to set the alarm to put in the ingredients. For those of you who do work at least an 8 hour day and are scared with the little cook time, don’t fret. I love my Crock Pot because once it stops cooking, it will automatically switch to warm until I get home. It is a life saver! Do you have one with a timer? I recently upgraded this past year. Mine not only has a timer but you can also brown meat in the same pot, talk about crock pot heaven. So go ahead try the recipe. Let me know what you think.

In the pictures below you will see I paired this dish with my Steamed Cauliflower Mashers instead of my Roasted Garlic, Onion and Cauliflower Mashers because I was pressed for time but any grain substitution side will work. You can even serve the chicken over a salad too although I did love the creaminess the cauliflower mashers gave the chicken but to each their own. The sky is endless.

So I fed this recipe to my non-Paleo husband and he actually loved it! He had two servings and both over your cauliflower rice. He said as long as he doesn’t have to sacrifice in flavor, he’ll eat Paleo all day long! A win for me!

I’ve made this several times and it is hands down the best paleo snack ever! Super versatile, super easy, and best of all paleo approved, toddler approved (super easy for them to help scoop all those dry infredients, we use a 1/4 cup so there are lots and lots of turns) and infantryman approved!!!